Shane Bitney Crone on returning to his hometown in Montana for screening of “Bridegroom”

I chatted with Shane Bitney Crone last week for Gay Star News and one of the things we talked about was his plans to make a trip to his hometown in Montana – a place he fled from right after high school – for a screening of his movie Bridegroom.

The film tells how Crone was ostracized at school and at church after a love letter he wrote to his best friend went public. The film details such indignities as actually being banned from high school sporting events because of the letter.

Shane told me: ‘To think that I spent most of my life wanting to get out of that town ashamed of being gay and now I’m going to go back to show a film about my love for my partner Tom. It’s a screening that I’m very thankful about.’

Well, the screening has taken place and Shane has posted about in Facebook. I’m just going to share with you what he wrote in its entirety:

Last evening, my life came full circle as I attended a screening of Bridegroom in my hometown, Kalispell, Montana. I never imagined that a town in which I spent my closeted and painful adolescence would eventually be the setting for a screening of a film that showcases some of my most personal memories. I was more nervous last night than I have been at any other screening; now that it is over, I only feel pride, relief, and freedom. The screening was filled with family members, friends, high school classmates, and even former teachers. I am so thankful to everyone who attended, and who helped make the evening possible: Anna Marie Bailey, Karen Jacobson, my mom Cindy, my sister Jessica, Mike Kofford, Sara Menssen, Alison Megahan, The Kalispell Education Foundation, Photo Video Plus, FVCC, and The Edge Salon.

PS Thank you also to everyone who attended the ‪#‎BridegroomMovie‬ screening Sunday night in Missoula, Montana. And special thanks to those who organized and facilitated the event, including the Montana Film Office, the Roxy theatre, and Ian Marquand.

PPS I’m looking forward to the ‪#‎Bridegroom‬ screenings in Dallas this coming weekend. For more info visit TheTexasTheatre.com.